Stopped
by KitKatt0430
Summary: Oneshot. During Bad Wolf. Jack had never seen anything like it before and hoped he never would again. There were things in this universe that should never happen. And it wasn’t the sight of Rose dying, bad enough as that was.


Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. I don't money off of Doctor Who. I don't get to ride in the Tardis with Doctor Who. I think it's that third one that hurts the worst…

**June 12, 2006** - I'd like to thank Rick Summon and A1234 for pointing out how I misspelled Lynda's name. I've gone through and fixed it. If any other errors are noticed, I always appreciate having them mentioned to me. :)

A/N Well, well, my second Doctor Who one-shot. I've fallen in love with this show, me thinks. The Doctor is so adorable, though I sometimes suspect him of being slight bipolar… anywho… I just finished watching the episode Bad Wolf yesterday and the last few moments when they were on level 500 were just priceless. - I've already had the whole regeneration thing spoiled, so I know the ninth Doctor is nearly at his end, but I also know he won't be going out without a fight. I can't wait until next Friday…

Summary – One-shot. There is one thing that Jack has seen that he hopes will never come to pass again.

_**Stopped**_

Jack had never seen anything like it before and fervently hoped he never would again. There were some things in this universe that should never, ever happen. And it wasn't just the sight of Rose disintegrating, bad enough as that was.

The Doctor had simply stopped.

When the beam hit Rose, the Doctor froze. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the tiny pile of ash on the floor; he couldn't react as the enforcers came to take him into custody; he couldn't fight back because everything that gave him purpose was now carbonized dust on the floor and nearby wall. The tough Time Lord who'd kept going even after the destruction of his very race finally quit. There was simply no other explanation for the lost, dead look in the Doctor's eyes.

When the enforcers dragged Jack past the Doctor, it occurred to the human man that Rose had been the only thing keeping the lost alien before him going. Even before she'd met him, the Doctor's subconscious purpose… his destiny or fate, if those were things within which to believe, had been to find his Rose. Her awe in the galaxy, as it was and had been and would be, returned to him a curiosity for the unknown; her unconditional caring for near strangers gave him reason to have faith that good did exist in people. Her spirit had given the Doctor new life in a way no regeneration ever could.

And, in those first moments of Rose's death, Jack could see that she had destroyed the Doctor as thoroughly as she'd once saved him.

-----

In the cell, Jack asked, "do you have a plan?" only to receive no response. The Doctor didn't even acknowledge the question. "We have to do something. I… I know it won't bring her back, but we owe it to her to keep going." There was still nothing. "I think that if we can bring to justice those responsible for…" Jack couldn't say it. His voice choked off and he found it hard to breathe.

Rose just couldn't be dead. She'd been always so kind to him, sympathetic to the fears he held over his memory loss… she'd been a friend and maybe, just maybe… she'd become family, a sister. Slowly, shock began settling into his system.

"Delayed reaction…" the Doctor whispered softly. "I wondered when… it… would sink in for you. You loved her…"

"Of course I loved her," Jack whispered, shaking. "She gets to people like that, does-didn't she? Not like you, though. I couldn't care for her the way you do. I see… I saw in her the family I lost…

"Even if I felt otherwise, I wouldn't have acted. It would take a better man than I to come between you and she…"

"When I say 'now,' we're getting out of here," the Doctor murmured. "You're right. We owe it to Rose to bring her murderers to justice." A grim glow seemed to emanate from the Doctor's dark eyes. He might have been promising retribution with his voice, but his gaze spoke of something else entirely: revenge.

-----

Rose's jean jacket hung innocuously on one of the Tardis' railings and seemed to mock Jack as he walked back inside what had become his home in so few days. She was the one he'd first met, her kindness in their first encounter bringing out a strange protective feeling within him that he hadn't felt in such a long time. And now she was gone. The beautiful flower gone, but the thorns were still there to dig painful gashes through the minds of those Rose had known.

Jack forced himself to keep walking to the Tardis' computer terminal. He promised himself that he wouldn't pause to touch the jacket and that he wouldn't let any further tears fall for this magnificent woman that should have been hailed a hero. There wasn't any time to mourn. Not yet, anyway.

The computer's analysis of the disintegration beam scrolled onto the screen. Jack could have leapt and shouted his joy at the readout.

Rose wasn't so far gone after all.

When he walked out into the main room again, Jack knew it would take nothing less than a demonstration of the beam's true design to convince the Doctor that everything wasn't lost just yet.

The little light that lit in the Doctor's eyes when Lynda reappeared next to him, completely unhurt, was worth the delay in telling him about the transportation field or whatever the people in charge called it. The little flame of hope that the Doctor carried like a torch relit before Jack's eyes. There were still miracles to be preformed and this Doctor, with Rose in his heart, was the one to pull those marvels off.

A/N Okie dokie. The story is over so if you'll leave you're thoughts in a review, I'd be much obliged.

Oh, and one last thing. While I've got at least a dozen other stories I'm working on, I have an idea for a chaptered story for Doctor Who with the ninth Doctor, Rose, Jack, and Adam as some of the main characters. Adam is going to start out on the bad guy side, but I'm not sure if he'll stay there; I kinda feel sorry for the guy having to live out his life with a vent in his forehead.

(Looks over the story on fanfiction editor) Hmm... this looked so much longer on Word...


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